When you lose the deciding court...

[dgrave2]

I feel like its a double loss when I am the deciding court on a league match and I lose.. I lose for myself and for the team.. AND it feels even worse because I'm the captain.. I feel like although the captain may not be the strongest player on the team, the captain should win his games (thats just my own personal view of myself).. so I'm really bummed. I played singles #1 and lost 4-6 6-4 10-8... Anyone else feel bad when they lose it for the team?

 

[AR15]

I guess by "deciding court" you mean the last court to finish?

I rarely know the outcome of the other courts until after I am finished, so no, I'm not bothered by this.

 

[spiderman123]

I feel like its a double loss when I am the deciding court on a league match and I lose.. I lose for myself and for the team.. AND it feels even worse because I'm the captain.. I feel like although the captain may not be the strongest player on the team, the captain should win his games (thats just my own personal view of myself).. so I'm really bummed. I played singles #1 and lost 4-6 6-4 10-8... Anyone else feel bad when they lose it for the team?

Had to reply to this.
Something that happened to me last season. I had a 12-3 record at the end. If we had won two more matches we could have gone to districts. I lost a "decider" in one of the matches in third set tiebreak 10-7. To rub salt on my wounds my sporting opponent decided to give me a bad call on a winner on 8-7. That was the only time in my USTA playing that I had to ask "Are you sure?". After helping to win some matches, it felt bad that I failed to bring the team that one step closer to districts.

Yes, you do feel bad after losing a decider but it is not a special case if you are captain. USTA captain is usually a nice guy who likes to take care of paperwork/money collection and has to do the incredibly difficult job of deciding who gets to play and where. When on court, he is no different than others, in fact, I say, teammates should cut the captain some slack as he does a lot of work for them that they chose not to do.

You are allowed to feel bad after the loss, just don't allow yourself to feel bad after the next day's sunrise. That is what I tell myself. Get on the court the next day and hit some balls and you will be all right.

 

[Topaz]

You are allowed to feel bad after the loss, just don't allow yourself to feel bad after the next day's sunrise. That is what I tell myself. Get on the court the next day and hit some balls and you will be all right.

Ohhh, I like this...wise words!!!

 

[bleach]

I (doubles)just lost the deciding match that determined if our team went to State/District or not. Yes, I feel pretty crappy about it.

 

[Topaz]

I (doubles)just lost the deciding match that determined if our team went to State/District or not. Yes, I feel pretty crappy about it.

But, you are not the 'deciding' court just because your match finished last. The others court(s) that didn't win are just as responsible! Silly how we do this to ourselves!!!

 

[dgrave2]

I really hate 10 pt tiebreaks instead of a 3rd set.. I wish we could play it out. I've lost two out of three of my singles matches in 3rd set tiebreaks.. I just melt in them lol. In yesterday's match I had 2 total double faults in the 1st and 2nd set... in the tiebreak alone I had 4. Oh well.

Great words spiderman123!!

 

[cak]

But, you are not the 'deciding' court just because your match finished last. The others court(s) that didn't win are just as responsible! Silly how we do this to ourselves!!!

Yeah, they should get some bonus guilt for losing faster than you did.

 

[Topaz]

Yeah, they should get some bonus guilt for losing faster than you did.

Exactly!!! Plus, if your match is the last one to finish, you could argue that is was a close and tough match, not like the 'blow out' the other guys must have gotten!!

 

[CrocodileRock]

This happens in other sports too. In our bowling league, I am usually the anchorman, so the pressure is on me to finish well in a close game. Last night I missed an easy spare, causing us to lose by eight. I felt bad, but kept a perspective - it was my only open frame all night that wasn't a split, and one of the other guys shot thirty pins under his average. It's just so much easier to remember the last one to finish.

 

[LuckyR]

Agree with the above posts and in addition on "the captain should win their match" comment: often the captain is the most competitive guy on the team, yet not the best player, so will often match up against the best of the other team in a stacking routine to allow better players to beat up on weaker players.

 

[sphinx780]

In those situations, I just try to remind myself that for your loss to matter, a couple others also had to lose. It's never fun to lose a tight match, especially if the team loses close too. Try not to beat yourself up about it. When it is that tight, you gave em hell and that's all you can ask in a match. I say if you make them beat you in that tight of a match, then, too good. Give them credit for a fight, and go get the next one.

 

[raiden031]

I've never lost a deciding match, but I really hate losing a match when there is something on the line, such as a spot in the playoffs or a championship, even if my team wins. In the finals of both mixed districts and men's sectionals, I lost my match while my team still won. Both losses bothered me a little for at least a few days. Maybe it isn't just that I lose in a big match, but maybe because I could've won both matches but just didn't.

 

[Topaz]

I've never lost a deciding match, but I really hate losing a match when there is something on the line, such as a spot in the playoffs or a championship, even if my team wins. In the finals of both mixed districts and men's sectionals, I lost my match while my team still won. Both losses bothered me a little for at least a few days. Maybe it isn't just that I lose in a big match, but maybe because I could've won both matches but just didn't.

Raiden, keep in mind all the matches you won during the season to put your team in that position!!!

 

[LawnChairGeneral]

even though they know i hate it, my teammates like to notify me during a change over that i'm the deciding match. it drives me nuts because it takes me off my game. i get tight and sometimes play not to lose rather than playing to win.

it's the opposite for some of my teammates. the "decider" knowledge increases their intensity and gives them a "win at all costs" attitude.

i do not feel bad about losing if i found out i was the "decider" after my match ends. i feel terrible if i lose knowing that i am the "decider" during the match.

as others have said, someone else could have won their match and the final match outcome would not matter. all matches are deciding matches...